The Gadādhara parivāra
The line of Paṇḍit Goswami
śāstriya śraddhā stops beginning bhaktas from committing sinful acts
Bhaktas lack the capacity to perform immoral acts
Who is ‘Sat’ in ‘Sat-saṅga’?
Sat-saṅga, the company of the ‘Sat’ or the devotees of Bhagavān is rightly understood to be crucial in one’s turning toward Bhagavān. Śrī Jīva Goswami explains this in detail in the Bhakti Sandarbha where he cites several verses from the Bhāgavata. Misunderstanding such verses, many think that bhakti […]
Śikṣāṣṭakam or eight instructions of Śri Caitanya
The famous eight instructions of Śri Caitanya
When guru contradicts śāstra
Leaving an inauthentic teacher and path.
śraddhā in bhakti is śāstriya śraddhā, and is nirguṇā
A key qualification on the path of bhakti is śraddhā, which is generally understood as faith. However, the word śraddhā indicates something very specific in the context of uttamā bhakti. Śrī Jīva Goswami takes this topic up in some detail in the Bhakti Sandarbha. Here we examine his […]
Hitopadeśa : recognizing a deceptive spiritualist
The spiritual prospects of many a modern sādhaka fade owing to entrapment by smart and savvy individuals who come across as authentic, scholarly spiritualists. In the Indian cultural context, a lot of thought has historically been given to protecting oneself from such dangers. The Hitopadeśa is one such […]
Bhagavān’s name is self-manifest
In a previous article, we examined the characteristics of Bhagavān’s names. There, we saw that Bhagavān’s name is self-existent, i.e. independent, and conscious. Here we explore this concept some more.
Śrī Jīva Goswami explains the characteristics of Bhagavān’s name
A major sādhana in Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism is the chanting of Bhagavān’s name (nāma in Sanskrit). It is not surprising, then, that Sri Jiva methodically analyzes the subject of nāma in the Sandarbhas. Here, we discuss key attributes of Bhagavān’s names. Bhagavan’s names are not mental constructs like other […]
Bhakti is the end of all inquiry
In the final verse of the Bhāgavata’s catuḥśloki, Bhagavān speaks about the fourth item, aṅga. The aṅga, Śrī Jīva Goswami explains in Anuccheda 96 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha, is sādhana bhakti or the means, to attain the rahasya, prema. Below, we present Śrī Jīva’s analysis of how the […]
The four topics in the Bhāgavata’s catuḥśloki
In Anuccheda 96 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami analyzes seven verses spoken by Bhagavān to Brahmā. Four of these seven verses constitute the famous catuḥśloki or four seed-verses of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. The word ‘seed’ here means that these verses constitute the essence of the Śrīmad […]
Sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana and adhikarī of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
A book should begin by explaining the following four topics: Sambandha: the relation (sambandha) of the book (vācaka) with its main subject (vācya). Abhidheya: the means of attainment propounded in the book. Prayojana: the completion state or end state brought about by the means stated in point 2. […]
